The presidential palace in Port-au-Prince made the front pages immediately after the earthquake on 12 January. The white colonial building collapsed like a house of cards. But much more of Haiti’s cultural heritage also lies in ruins.

 

"We are not able to provide a financial estimate of the damage, but it’s already clear that all of the country’s cultural institutes and buildings have been severely damaged. Most are concentrated in Port-au-Prince, of course. But there is also the historical town of Jacmel. It was a candidate for the UNESCO world heritage list, but it’s in a state of almost complete collapse. Its wooden structures are very fragile,” explains Els van der Plas, Director of the Prince Claus Fund.

 

Trust in the future
The Fund is calling international attention to the damage inflicted on the buildings and cultural treasures in Haiti. "Of course, food, health and a roof above your head are the essentials of human life," says Els van der Plas. "But it’s people’s cultural identity that makes them who they are and defines their place in the world. And if all that is taken away from you, you can lose your sense of security and your trust in the future."
 
While estimates suggest that tens of thousands of bodies have yet to be recovered, the United Nations cultural organisation UNESCO has already started taking stock of the damage. The Prince Claus Fund is in contact with a number of Haitians and with the French organisation "Fondation AfricAméricA", which restored four hurricane-damaged sacred voodoo sites in 2008. The Prince Claus Fund commissioned and paid for the work.

 

Dancer and choreographer Jeanguy Saintus is one of the Prince Claus Fund’s contacts in Haiti. In 2008, the Fund honoured him with an award for his work. The earthquake damaged Jeanguy’s dance school so badly that he can no longer use it. But his present priorities lie with his dancers and musicians: "I’m pleased that the international community is thinking about our heritage, but all that the dancers and drummers at my school are thinking about now is how to obtain food and find a roof over their heads."

 

Emergency cultural aid
Nevertheless, the Fund is still keen to start cultural restoration work in the near future. March is the start of the rainy season, and it is vital that sites such as the severely damaged library are protected by the time the rains come. Such projects are not particularly costly, and they can buy time while people consider how to set about restoring the building at a later stage.

 

Els van der Plas of the Prince Claus Fund admits that it takes considerable effort to convince aid workers and the government that they should also take the preservation of the country’s cultural heritage into account. "But our experience after the Indian Ocean tsunami and many other disasters is that people really want to do something related to rebuilding their lives, something to do with the future. Cultural heritage buildings often serve a communal purpose as well. Schools, churches and mosques are all places where people gather. There’s often a strong desire to restore those kinds of buildings, so that people once again have a place where they can meet and share their sorrow."

 

Dance teacher Jeanguy Saintus says he would give anything if his dancers and musicians could come and rehearse with him again. "These kids are not rich. They have no parents to bring and fetch them. They used to spend all their time here, dancing and dreaming. Once you are in studio with your dancers and drummers and the music, you forget all your problems."